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Summer Camp Choices

02-21-2014, 10:19 PM

I'm looking into out of council summer camps for 2015. I have found a few that make my short list so far for the boys to vote on. Anyone been to any of these and can offer opinions/review? Programs, staff, food,high adventure options, etc.

Possibly looking at Buffalo Bill near Yellowstone, NP. We are in the St. Louis, MO metro area so this may be a bit of a stretch. Doable if the boys want to and it seems like a good camp but lots more planning and some extra expense for the travel.

Been to Buffalo Bill, nice camp, no water sports, but they did do canoeing MB in glacial water. Boys were not impressed. Nice mess hall, bring your own tents. Wednesday off to tour Yellowstone or Cody. We went to Cody on Wednesday and got in the Buffalo Bill/Winchester museum and a rodeo. We went to Yellowstone on weekend following so we got two days there. We stopped in the Black Hills both coming and going to camp.

Wisconsin has a number of camps, Decorah, okay, but nothing impressive, has a mess hall, Phillips, large, full organized program with mess hall. Nice water activities, small cabins instead of tents. But the camp the boys always wanted to go to was Camp Frieland Leslie. Huge lake owned by the camp, large sites, and 100% patrol method (patrol cooking in the site). No mess hall. Friday was a campwide activity that the boys really enjoyed. Plenty of water activities, sailing, fishing, canoeing, boating, swimming, etc. Modern showers. Tents are not set up when you arrive! Full MB program. The boys unanimously voted to go to that camp every year after trying it out once. The only comparison I have to that camp was the kind of camp I went to as a scout back in the '60's. I didn't know they still existed.

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I took 2 troops to Buffalo Bill back in 2001. Our 40 people were more than they could handle for the high adventure program that they offered. I constantly reminded them in all my communication that all 40 people were coming specifically for that program. They ended up dividing the group in half and running half through the program in the reverse schedule.

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Been to Daniel Boone twice and going again this summer. IMHO, best camp I have been to. Great staff, excellent facilities, great location, top-notch first year program and the support and dedication of the Council to keep it all that way. Dining hall is like a ski lodge. SM lounge has wifi and there is adult training too. The only "down side" of the camp is the lake...it is small and cold, so I would advise Scouts taking water badges to bring something to keep them warm in the water.

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Make your own camping week. Make it real camping. Forget the merit badge courses. Make a base camp. Do some backpacking. Work on pioneering and scoutcraft. Perfect your cooking and knots. Play in a river. Explore new places.
It's still possible to do this. It does take more planning but the good stuff isn't necessarily the easy stuff.

Ouch. As they say, you get what you pay for. S-F makes the schedule so they boys would have a hard time earning more than 3 merit badges. No dinning hall for the Scouts, only for venturers. (Small v intentional) http://www.stlbsa.org/camping/AllAbo...Camp-Fees.aspx

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Been to Daniel Boone twice and going again this summer. IMHO, best camp I have been to. Great staff, excellent facilities, great location, top-notch first year program and the support and dedication of the Council to keep it all that way. Dining hall is like a ski lodge. SM lounge has wifi and there is adult training too. The only &quot;down side&quot; of the camp is the lake...it is small and cold, so I would advise Scouts taking water badges to bring something to keep them warm in the water.

Ski lodge dinning hall is a plus ?

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For 26 new Scouts who we are trying to teach trail to FC to AND get feed and first trip from home and, and and....yes. That's a huge plus. We have plenty of time for the usual Scout-style dining hall with lousy food, horrid sanitation and the like later. Right now with 3 adults going we need easy.

But even if you prefer roughing it, that's the only difference between CDB and other camps being discussed. All other ammenities are the same. Staff at CDB is outstanding.

On a seperate note, anyone ever been to Medicine Mountain Scout Ranch?